New Love
by the Original Anonymous
Summary: I'm sorry anyone who read this, but I have officially discontinued this fic. If you want to try your hand at it, let me know and I'll gladly pass the reigns to you. I'm sorry again. I'll try and leave it open for takeover until next year. Then it's gone.
1. The Force is Strong With Her

New Love

First, the disclaimer. I am ridiculously poor because I own none of this. Please don't sue.

Second, the message to the readers. Please review. No author ever got any better at writing without some feedback. That little button at the bottom is a great review tool. Also, flames will be used to heat my cardboard box so be my guest.

The Tendo dojo. As a dojo, it naturally gained a reputation for being a great place for martial-arts battles. The Tendo dojo was a little different though. No other dojo was host to unbelievable, high-powered, form-changing martial-arts battles like those witnessed at the Tendo dojo. And then there was the center of all these fights, Ranma Saotome. The aforementioned martial arts prodigy was sitting on the wall surrounding the Tendo property, staring at the stars. Although the roof was also a great place for star-gazing, it had recently been discovered by all of the crazies in Nerima to be his favorite spot. Thus he looked for another spot and came to this little place hidden from view by a tree. It was perfect for hiding. As for the star-gazing, Ranma had been wondering.

Lately, things had made Ranma question himself. All his life, one of the few constants was his identity, Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, man-among-men. However, for the first time in his life, Ranma thought about his future. He realized that there was nothing for him on his current path. Did he truly want to live out his life married to an abusive possible lesbian while teaching children a minor form of the Art? No, although his father did try hard to convince him he did. Through his self-searching, Ranma discovered that he had never made his own decisions in his life. They were always made for him. To marry his soon-to-be ex-fiancé. To study martial arts and nothing else. To be the target of every high-powered nutcase in the entire world. None of it was by his decision. Well, this was going to end. He was already on his way up the stairs. No more was he going to take orders from everyone. Ranma Saotome was leaving the building.

As he was heaving his enormous pack over his shoulder, Ranma remembered another thing that had given him cause to look over his life. Who was he? Was he truly even a he? He thought about it and thought about it and finally he noticed something. He felt more comfortable as a girl.

As a boy, he could only practice the Art without feeling under scrutiny. As a girl, he could eat ice cream, cook, wear things other than his usual red and black kung-fu uniform, and even…..flirt…..without anyone questioning his identity. Why should he be forced to do one thing predictably? After all, he was now his own person!

It was his choice on whether he wanted to be a boy or a girl now. And he chose girl. He quickly splashed himself with a convenient bucket of water and went off.

Her first stop was to a little place in China. She doubted the Musk would really mind if she were to borrow a certain locking ladle. Just in case though, she felt it would be best to ask.

Silently slipping onto a ship bound for China, she prepared herself for the possible fight she was about to have. It was a good thing she had decided to unseal the Umisenken and learn the Yammasenken. They would probably prove useful soon.

The next several hours were spent in silent meditation. Ranma had recently had an idea for a new technique. She had seen a street performer do what he later learned was called telekinesis. Even though she saw that it was just a stupid magic trick, it had inspired her. She figured if she could just focus her ki into tendrils, she could move stuff around with only her ki. Using these ki tendrils, she could lift up things as big as an abandoned car that she stumbled upon one day with no effort whatsoever. The exact limits of the technique were as of yet unclear, but Ranma was relatively sure that it had none. More tightly focused tendrils seemed to make lightning. Nothing could incapacitate someone like a few thousand volts through their system. She decided to only use this technique in the case of an emergency as, not only was it deadly if prolonged, it was very painful.

It wasn't long before she had crates, boxes, and even herself flying around the room she was hiding in. She probably wouldn't even need the unsealed techniques!

'Let's see what Herb thinks when I'm flying around with him.'

Prepared for her ordeal, Ranma set off for the Musk territory.

Reaching the Musk stronghold, Ranma was met halfway by a Musk scout party.

"Wow! A woman! I've never seen one!" said one that looked very similar to a rat.

"Me neither." said the other that had a bit of an affinity to a hawk.

"Yeah well keep dreamin'. I'm just here to speak to Herb."

They suddenly got serious. "And why is that woman?" asked the hawkish one.

"It's none o' yer business! How about that?"

"Then I guess it's our business now. No one speaks to Prince Herb without our consent." the rat said, unsheathing two concealed knives. The other followed suit by notching an arrow into his bow.

Ranma just smirked. "Perfect. You guys will make great practice targets." she said while rising into the air.

Ignoring their awe, she immediately reached out with her ki and grabbed the hawk man. Just a thought later and he was thrown approximately thirty feet straight up. As soon as his buddy left the ground, the rat guy did too, leaping at Ranma with a speed almost rivaling her own. His progress was immediately stopped in mid-air and he found himself spinning around rapidly. The hawk man started his descent screaming and remained so, even after Ranma grabbed him again just a few inches off the ground. Giggling in delight, she tossed him into a tree and set down the rat man before he blew chunks. Both were out like lights and her path was open.

On the outside, Ranma just had a bit of a smile, but on the inside, she was ecstatic. With this kind of power, she would never have to worry about challengers again! Just send them flying be done with it, Then she could devote herself to something new. Now she wasn't limited to practicing martial arts for the rest of her life!

Before she could do that though, she had to become a full girl.

The few guards that she encountered were easily tossed away. Her march up to the throne room was nearing its end, impeded only by the next door. A wave of her hand and it flew off of its hinges. Behind the door, sitting calmly in his seat, was the Musk prince himself, asleep.

After the initial face fault, Ranma got up and yelled, "What the heck man! I fought my way up here just to find you _sleeping_? So much for the big showdown."

The outburst woke up Herb and he fell out of his chair. "Wha-what? R-Ranma? What are you doing here?…..AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DOOR!"

"I knocked your door down and I'm here for the locking ladle!" she said, pointing her finger at the Musk prince.

"Okay, take it." he said with a dismissing gesture.

"Man you're just out to kill my mood today aren't cha?"

"Well why would I want it? I've had enough of it after our ordeal."

"I suppose that's true. Well then I'll just use it and be on my way."

"Whatever. Just don't ever comeback! Those were my favorite doors" Herb said, muttering the last part.

He help out the ladle and bucket in a bored manner and Ranma walked up to it.

'Am I really sure I want to go through with this? This is a permanent effect and I'm not sure Herb would appreciate my return.'

Fortunately for her, Herb got tired of waiting for her to make up her mind and splashed the water on her form.

"Okay, now that that's over, GET OUT OF MY PALACE!" He sent a ki blast at her, expecting her to be blasted off.

What he didn't expect was her to bring her hands up and a piece of the ground lift up and take the blast. Leaping away from the shrapnel, he stared into the place where he sent the blast. Ranma walked out of the dust and said calmly, "You don't have to be rude. I was going to leave anyway."

"Now you know I can't let you leave now. I have to see just how powerful you've become." He then face faulted when she jumped into the air with a "Yes!"

Growling at her impudence, he leapt at her firing of a large ball of ki. Ranma clapped her hands together and in response, pieces of the walls came together to form a rough stony shield in front of her. The blast slammed into the stone and dissipated. She then threw her hands forward and the shield was fired at Herb with the force of a cannonball. Herb took to the air and flew towards the ex-aqua transvestite. Ranma jumped straight up while Herb flew beneath her. He immediately turned and fired a ki blast straight at where he judged she would land…..and hit nothing. He turned rapidly, searching for his opponent.

Above him Ranma just smiled. 'I knew he'd freak.' Bringing up one hand, she plucked a boulder out of the wall and held it directly over him.

As soon as his danger sense went off, Herb fired a ki blast straight up, obliterating the boulder. Then ignoring his shock, he flew up to meet Ranma on level ground.

"I see you've learned some new tricks." he said.

"A few." she responded.

"Let's see how well you can defend against this." he said closing his eyes.

Cupping his hands together in an O, he started gathering energy. When he had what looked like a pure white golf ball in his hands, he threw it at Ranma. She laughed a little and brought a stone up to defend herself again. Her laughing ceased when the ball shot straight through the stone and impacted with her stomach. The ball exploded and she fell to the floor in a boneless heap.

Just before she went unconscious, she heard something along the lines of, "Guards, chain her up in a cell. I have finally found a bride worthy of siring a great son for me."

To be continued…..

If you don't review I might cry! And before you say "so?" my tears are endless and will flood the world. Review please. ^_^


	2. The Damsel in Distress

Sorry it took so long peoples. Lots o' stuff came up lately so I had a reason! XD To the people who want explanations for the plot holes in the story - DENIED! Just kidding. As a wise person once said, "Patience is a virtue."

Disclaimer: I am poor and own nothing but the storyline. Please don't sue.

Darkness.

Ranma's eyes opened and then immediately closed again. Light has a tendency to hurt unaccustomed eyes after all.

"Wh-where am I? Ugh, it's like I got shot with a cannonball," she said, taking a quick glance at her surroundings.

She seemed to be in a dungeon of some type. Chains and iron bracers adorned the wall and there were various torture devices on a rack in the corner. Ranma looked over her head and found her own arms to be locked into a pair of aforementioned bracers and suspended from the wall.

'Heh, Homey. Well I guess I need to get out of here.'

She stretched her ki out into a "tentacle" and reached it up to break the chain….only, she couldn't focus. The tentacle wavered and faded.

"Man, Herb must've hit me harder than I thought! I wonder what that stupid attack was anyway?"

"I might teach it to you at some point…..bride," came a voice from the shadows.

"Who's there?" Ranma yelled. "Why, it's me, your soon-to-be-husband," said the voice.

"Psshhhh! Yeah right! I ain't marryin' nobody pal. Now why don't you step out here so I can see who's butt I'm gonna kick!"

"Very well," the voice said, walking out of the shadows. The torchlight shone on his dragon scale armor. "And I don't think you'll be kicking my butt, woman!" he said with a cruel smile.

Suddenly, it all came back to the newly permanent girl. The fights with the guards, the confrontation with Herb, the big battle….and the last thing she heard.

"I have finally found a woman worthy of bearing me a strong child!"

Back in the present, the girl immediately screamed, "Oh HELL no! I ain't lettin' you anywhere near me if that's what's goin' through your mind, pal!"

"And just how are you going to stop me? I've already beaten you and the drug running through your system should make it too difficult for you to focus your new power."

Ranma realized that he was right. For the first time since she could remember, she was completely helpless. The bindings holding her were hard iron and as strong as she was, without her ki, she couldn't even hope to break them. She was at the mercy of the man before her, and they both knew it.

'I really should've gone with my first plan of no fighting!' she thought desperately.

"I must say, I don't think I can even wait for the wedding. Why not secure the throne right now?

The implications behind this statement made Ranma say the only thing that came to mind.

"Kyaaaaaaahhh!"

She knew it was girly but she was a girl now right? Besides, it seemed to fit the situation.

Herb was already shedding his robes when she came back to herself.

"Herb, pl-please! I-isn't it enough that you b-beat me?"

"I already knew that I was the superior combatant. I am doing this for two reasons. One, you are the strongest woman I have ever seen and will do good to secure my bloodline. Second, I'm doing this for a personal reason," he said, tearing her shirt and pants off.

"Quite simply, I want to see you squirm like the pathetic, little, helpless girl you are!" he said with a malicious grin on his face.

Ranma was down to her usual underwear of just boxers and this fact terrified her. Quivering in fear, she screamed with the realization that she was probably going to be raped. Fear gripped her whole body and just as darkness started closing in, she heard it.

"Halt foul sorcerer!" said a surprisingly reassuring voice.

"K-Kuno? Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked weakly.

"Fear not my fair pigtailed girl! This beastly ruffian shall now face the might of the Blue Thunder!"

"Kuno no! He's too strong! Even I couldn't beat him!" Wait, why did she care? Somehow, she was worried for the delusional fool.

"Who is this joker? Can't he see we're busy? I'll ju-"

That's as far as he got before the would-be samurai threw his hands forward and launched the Musk prince into a wall. The boy in uniform then went back to a standard samurai stance with his hand on his bokken.

"Prepare yourself hooligan!" he roared.

Ranma, for once, was speechless. Did the Blue Blunder just use her new technique? Nah, it was probably just his usual air pressure attack. But what if it wasn't?

Whatever it was, it only stopped Herb for a minute. He blasted out of the wall like a rocket, headed for a flight-powered head-butt into Kuno. Said boy simply side-stepped the attack, drawing his weapon simultaneously and slamming it into his opponent's back. The force of the attack slammed Herb into the ground where he lay motionless in a daze.

"Well, so much for a good fight. Are you okay Ranma?"

Whoa, back up! Did he just talk normally _and_ call her by name?

"Who are you and what did you do with the real Kuno?"

Kuno sighed and said, "I suppose I should have expected this. Let me free you and we'll talk on the way to our ride home. You have accomplished all that you came to, yes?"

"Uh…..yes?" 'Holy crap. Is this really Kuno?'

"Yes, it's really me."

"What the hell?"

"On the way if you please."

He sliced through her cuffs and helped her stand.

"Can you walk?"

"O' course I can! What do you think….I….I….ugh," Ranma said falling over. 'S-stupid drug!' "Okay, no I can't"

Kuno simply responded by picking her up bridal style and walking through the nearby door. Ranma unconsciously laid her head against his shoulder.

'This sure is different. Oh well. I'll get some answers!'

To be continued…

Please review or I'll cry. Please don't make Anonymous cry!


	3. The Encounter With Pure Evil

Okay, I know. I haven't updated in this close to forever. Short of reciting the entire (insert something long and related to regret in here), I'm not apologizing anymore than this. To those who like this story, thanks! ^_^ To those that don't, XP Either way please read. X3

Disclaimer: I only own the plot. If the characters and ideas were mine, I wouldn't be living in a box. Please don't sue.

As the pair walked through Herb's castle, Ranma couldn't help but notice all of the unconscious Musk lying around.

Ranma thought, 'I didn't fight all of these people. I didn't even know there were this many left! Even I would've had trouble with all of them. How did Kuno…'

"Please save all of your questions until we get to our ride," Kuno said nonchalantly.

"Okay, seriously! If your gonna answer alla' my - if you are going to answer all of my questions before I can even ask them, we may have a bit of a quarrel."

Kuno had a bit of an incredulous look on his face. He quickly shook his head and regained his initial composure.

"Very well, I'm sorry. I must say Ranma-chan, I never knew you had it in you to be so eloquent. Might I ask what brought about such a change?"

Ranma was silent for a moment before saying, "I-I decided that being a boy brought me nothing but trouble and if I'm going to be a girl, I might as well do my best."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, as a boy, I have several fiancés who only want me as a prize, a father who can pawn me off for anything he doesn't work for, a skewed sense of reality due to a messed up masculinity…..and I have to pay full price for octopus balls."

The last part she said with a blush. Kuno was stunned. He felt so much anguish coming off of the newly discovered girl when she said that that he was actually feeling a bit depressed himself.

'This poor child has been through so much. I thought I would be uprooting her life but I can see what I'm about to do will be a blessing. I have to make sure though…'

They had been walked a few miles away when Kuno suddenly put her down.

He said, "Here looks like a good place to set up camp. I will go get some firewood."

"Then I'll put up the tent," Ranma said.

Kuno walked off and Ranma turned to her pack.

'Now's the perfect time to try and get my ki going again!'

Ranma held her hand out towards her pack and flicked her hand. The flap opened and the bundled-up tent hopped out. She tightened her hand into a fist like she was grabbing something and the tent jumped up and stayed suspended in the air. As she unclenched her hand, the tent unfurled and settled on the ground. Next, the new telekinetic picked up the tent poles and threw them in front of her, where they assembled and froze. Moving her arms in slashing motions, the poles stabbed through the tent and set themselves up. She tossed the stakes into the air and they stopped and stabbed themselves into the ground around the tent. Ranma lowered her hands and stood back to appreciate her work.

'Not bad if I do say so myself. It looks like they're back.'

"You're right, they are back. That's why I'm here."

Ranma whirled around and saw what looked like an old man in a long, black, flowing robe. Tentatively, she asked' "Wh-who are you?"

"Why Ranma, I'm your new sensei," said the robed figure.

"My new sensei? Oh, I get it. Look, I don't know what Genma Saotome promised you, but I'm no longer his child. If you like, I can give you his current addr-"

"I will have nothing to do with that fool!" he shouted.

Somehow, the rasp and severity of his voice deeply frightened Ranma. It was like he radiated pure evil, and that if he wished, he could chop her into little pieces and think nothing of it the next morning. That was what frightened her.

"Excuse my outburst young Ranma, but I'm not here for the fat fool who fathered you. I'm here for you in particular. You see, I am in need of new servants and I think you are just what I'm looking for."

"And what makes you think that?"

"You are the most force-talented child I have ever seen."

"Force? What's for-"

"RANMA! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kuno yelled, running out from the bushes.

The robed man seemed almost amused. He grinned with a cruel smile and said, "Aaaah Master Kuno. I never thought we would meet again since I issued the order. I can see you were able to avoid tragedy."

"No thanks to you or your accursed lapdog, Vader!"

The man's smile faltered for a moment at this. "Vader is no longer fit for the job. I have sensed much weakness in him lately." The evil grin returned and he said, "Regardless of my current apprentice's status, I felt I should inform our young Ranma here of the universe at large. Then again, I think I'll let you do it."

Then, the man seemed to waver and finally, his form finally disappeared. After that, what seemed like a metal sphere with a little camera lifted up and shot straight into space.

Ranma was for once speechless. First, she had never been so scared in her life. Not when she faced Saffron, not when Ryoga learned the Breaking Point, not even when she was almost raped by Herb, never. Something about the robed man simply terrified her. Second, what the hell was that little round thing? It was a little too freaky. So freaky in fact that she couldn't handle it and fainted. Just before she lost all thought, she could almost swear she could see Kuno with a look of concern looking down at her.

"Ranma? Ranma! Ran…..ma….."

If I were any less of a person, I would stop this chapter right here and leave you guys in some serious suspense. However, Anonymous is a nice person. Since she wasn't updating for so long, Anonymous will continue! X3

_In Ranma's mind_

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! That's the second time I've fainted today! And in front of Kuno too!"

Here, she paused. "Why does this bother me? I'm a girl right? Girls faint occasionally, don't they? Besides, Kuno seems different somehow. Was that genuine concern on his face? Ugh! What the hell am I thinking? This is Kuno, KUNO! But then, he was worried about me. AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!"

_In the real world_

Kuno was almost frantic. After Ranma fainted, he decided there was no time to walk to the transport. He immediately grabbed Ranma and dashed towards the destination. As Kuno continued to gain speed, the world began to blur around him. Propelled by the force, the samurai was turning a two-day trip into a thirty minute one. By the time he reached his destination, he was on the verge of passing out too. However, he struggled on. Moving towards a cluster of trees, he pulled a small remote from his shirt and clicked a button. Just like with the robed man, the tree cluster wavered and was replaced by a sleek blue and black metal vehicle. Another button-press and a door opened on the side. Kuno staggered up the ramp with his strangely delicate load and deposited her on a nearby table.

'I have to get her stabilized. Somehow, even without bodily harm, she seems to be going through some kind of mental anguish.'

Kuno pushed a button on the table and a robot rolled in from another room.

"Get her stabilized. I don't care how. I will be at the pilot seat. Alert me when she is out of danger."

"Yes sir"

Kuno left the room. On his way out, he was met halfway by a little robot that looked a lot like a high-tech moving trashcan.

"Get ready R9, we're going home."

_Several hours later_

Ranma gasped upon awakening.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked aloud.

Cautiously, she sat up and looked around. She seemed to be in some sort of medical area. Suddenly, she jumped as a robot rolled in.

"WH-WHAT THE HELL?"

"Oh dear, I'm sorry if I startled you. Master! The young lady has awakened!"

Ranma inched her way around the droid and peeked into the room it was talking towards. Inside, she saw both the most amazing and disappointing thing ever. The latter was Kuno snoring away at some kind of control panel. The second was beyond him. Beyond the sleeping samurai, was infinity. Stretching out in a vast expanse, encompassing everything. Moving past Kuno, she pressed her face to the viewing panel. It was as if she were staring straight at her soul. The stars were even more beautiful than in Tokyo.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" said a voice behind her.

Ranma turned and looked at a slightly groggy-looking Kuno. He had a smile on his face while he slowly got up and approached her.

"I think I know but where are we?" Ranma asked.

"At the moment, we are a little ways off of the planet Rodia, in the Outer Rim," Kuno said, looking down at a little screen next to his chair.

"Ok, never mind. I'm lost," Ranma replied with a clueless look on her face.

Kuno laughed and motioned for her to follow him. They walked into a what might have been a dining area and sat down.

"So then," Kuno began, "I bet you have some questions for me."

"You bet your ass I do!" Ranma said.

"Then ask away."

Anonymous needs reviews for sustenance! Don't let Anonymous die! Also, I hope this answered any questions that people might have had. If not, be sure to let me know what I'm missing. Last thing, There is still a lot to add so don't worry if I promised something would be in this that isn't yet. It will be eventually. Review please! ^_^


	4. The Unexpected Happens

I understand any and all hate I may have inspired in readers. I think I'm just really bad at this "update regularly" thing. I'm sowwy! o Anyway, I give to you…(drum roll please)….THE NEXT CHAPTER!

"First of all, what the hell man? You read minds, don't speak in poetry, whoop serious ass, and haven't tried to grope me once yet!"

Ranma's last statement rather stung the samurai.

"Oh, how should I word this? Ranma, your life is a lie."

Of course Ranma was a martial artist. As such, she was trained to assess any situation and respond to it like any other great martial artist.

She was speechless.

Regrettably, few great martial artists have ever been told such a thing on a spaceship.

"What he hell? Whaddya mean my life is a lie? You sound like a cheap action movie!"

Kuno's reaction was of a more sane kind. He pinched his brow.

'I knew this would be hard to explain! Then again, I probably could have worded that a bit better.'

"Ok, let me try that again. Ranma, you weren't born on Earth."

The pig-tailed warrior paused at the mention of this small statement.

Tentatively, she asked, "I…I wasn't? Th-then where was I….?"

Remembering to be gentle, Kuno said, "You were born in a planet-encompassing city called Corruscant. Although I'm a little sketchy on the details, your parents fled the planet immediately after learning of the change in governmental power by the evil chancellor-now-emperor Palpatine. Somehow, they had already predicted the huge massacre that was to follow and escaped. They flew as far as they could, past even the outer rim, something few have ever done. Unfortunately, they were met by the empire's forces. In a tragic event, their ship was destroyed, with them on it. Fortunately, they also anticipated this and prepared you to be shot off to a remote planet, much like the Americans' Superman. That's how you came to Earth."

The poor redhead was in shock. 'I'm from out here? I mean, I know I never really could relate to my parents, but I'm not even human?'

"Oh, you are human, You're just an alien too."

"Quit it with the mind-reading!"

"Sorry. I couldn't resist."

Coming back to her senses, Ranma asked, "And you? What's you're story? I'm actually finding it very hard to believe that your name is even Kuno," she said with a slight sigh.

"Err, you're right sort of. My name is actually Rollith Kuno, but for simplicity's sake, just call me Kuno. I was a child that was set with a family by the Jedi Council for future training because I was force-sensitive. When order 66 was issued, I was only about 5 years old. I had the misfortune of witnessing my foster family's death when the storm troopers came for me. Luckily, I was saved by a Jedi that realized the situation and rescued me. Master Shaak Ti and I went into hiding on the jungle-infested Fellucia. There she trained me in the ways of the force and led me away from the dark side when my anguish at my parents death almost overwhelmed me. Regrettably, she died at the hands of a sith tracker in order to allow my escape. Before I left, she gave me the information on you, the last, and possibly most powerful, force-sensitive child alive. I came to Earth and have been monitoring you closely ever since."

"Wait wait, how did you monitor me? I was traveling around China."

Without missing a beat, Kuno replied, "Ranma, I trust you've met my ninja servant, Sasuke?"

Ranma replied, "Well yeah, but how-"

"Ranma, Sasuke is an abnormally small Fellucian that I equipped with a hologram projector. They are surprisingly stealthy when they wish to be. You never noticed because you've never come into physical contact with him, no?"

"…..Well, I guess so. Wait, then how did you enter into Furinken? Don't schools have special tests to get in?"

A bit sheepishly, Kuno answered, "Well, I might've used the Force to "convince" everyone that my being there was nothing new. All I had to do at that point was put on an act so that you wouldn't suspect anything."

Immediately, Ranma stood up. "Alright! I can't take it anymore! What IS the Force? I've heard the word so many times, I'm probably going to be saying it in my sleep for weeks!"

Stifling his laughter, Kuno said, "Ranma, the force is a thing which can be found in all life. It is measured by these little things in your blood called midichlorians. I suppose you've been calling it Ki for a while now."

Unexpectedly, Ranma's jaw hit the floor. "That's what Ki is? Thank goodness! I haven't been able to explain it for sooooo long! Hang on. Does that mean a certain lost boy is force-sensitive too?"

At first Kuno was a bit confused. Then he realized what Ranma was trying to say and put his fist in his palm. "Oh! You mean Ryo-mph?" Kuno exclaimed as Ranma rushed over and put her hand over his mouth.

"Don't say his name! Some how, some way, he'll show up! Now what were you saying?" she said, sitting back down as though nothing had happened.

Still marveling at her incredible speed, Kuno too righted himself in his chair and continued.

"This unmentionable person is mostly just naturally strong. I'm not sure how, but he harnesses the force to strengthen himself a little and shoot projectiles. I looked into it several times, but I don't think he's as force-sensitive as he is just very dedicated to defeating you. He sort of forced himself to learn the 'ki attack.' Anyone can technically use the force, but it is rare to have someone who literally trains themselves to use the Force, like Ryoga." Kuno said. He only realized his terrible mistake when he noticed Ranma's horrified gaze.

As if on cue, a crash was heard in the cockpit area.

"Where on Earth am I now?"

The force-empowered youths both sighed and hung their heads.

Ranma thought, 'If only you and I were that lucky Pig-boy.'

Ryoga stumbled into the room with his back turned and looked out a nearby viewport.

"Huh, I guess I can't say that at the moment, can I?" he stated calmly, looking out into infinity.

He turned around and his eyes settled on the pair. They then widened considerably and with a loud voice, the lost boy exclaimed, "Ranmaaaa!"

'Here it comes,' Ranma thought with a roll of her eyes.

"I have been through Hell and back just to…to…..to tell you I'm sorry." he said quietly. He slowly knelt down to his knees and bowed forgiveness.

"Alright Porky, let's get this over wi - huh?"

Ryoga looked up and said, "Ranma, I'm sorry. I was cursing your name the other day while outrunning a forest of carnivorous monkeys, and I realized that I never take responsibility for things. Shoot, I was just about to curse your name again for something you weren't even on Earth for. I always get mad at you if you for no reason. Therefore, I decided to seek you out and apologize. Please forgive this hypocrite! I know this isn't like me, but I think things needs to be different from how they are now."

Ranma was stunned. Ryoga was apologizing? To HER? Somehow, she got the feeling she had been sent to another dimension. Being unable to handle the situation, she did the only thing she could. She fainted again.

As she once more embraced the consuming darkness, she definitely heard twin cries of "RANMA!"

_Let's say an hour later_

Ranma awoke to being on the cold medical table for the second time.

'I've GOT to stop fainting. There's no telling what Ryoga must think of his greatest rival now.'

The telekinetic hopped down and padded into the living area where she spied Kuno and Ryoga playing some sort of game that had little holograms placed as though a chess game would be. They looked up as she entered, both with smiles.

Ranma sighed and said, "Ok Ryoga. I assume Kuno told you everything while I was out. Go ahead and get it out of your system," she said clenching her eyes tightly.

When she heard no insults, she opened them in confusion. Ryoga was there with a look of regret on his face.

"Ranma, I-"

"I SAID GET IT OVER WITH!" she screamed.

Wincing slightly, Ryoga stood up and stepped near the pig tailed girl. "Ranma, I….I never considered how bad you had it. Sure I was always lost, but you. You went through torture. Through all of it, you remained a good person. Everyone you met after that, myself included, gave you every reason there was to hate and fear. But you never wavered. Now, you've been told that you weren't even born in what you thought was a home and you are still so selfless as to allow me the first punch. I have no right to ridicule you. And now that I'm up here in space I can only help you. So please, let me help you."

He looked down at the girl, who was trying desperately not to cry. This was the first time either boy had seen Ranma's tears. In this particular situation, Ryoga did the only thing he could think to do. He grabbed Ranma up in a hug. As soon as she was in in his arms, the floodgates broke and Ranma released all of her anguish. Ranma Saotome, martial arts prodigy, phoenix-slayer, and heir to the musabetsu kakuto ryu, had never cried before. However, she was not this Ranma Saotome. She was just Ranma.

Even the silent Kuno couldn't help but stand up and embrace them both in a group hug. Slowly, the crying stopped, and the trio separated.

Kuno suggested, "Ranma, there's a bathroom down the hall. Why don't you go freshen up? We'll be approaching Corruscant soon and you want to look your best, don't you?"

Ranma sniffed and said timidly, "You guys will still be here when I get back, right?"

Both boys stiffened at her soft tone and then said simultaneously, "Of course."

Ranma smiled and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Ryoga turned to Kuno and said, "Is that really Ranma? I can barely recognize hi - her."

"Yes, it is indeed Ranma. She is just going through a time of self-realization. She will be fine. Knowing Ranma, though, something unexpected may occur."

Chuckling, Ryoga said, "Heh, ya' think?"

_With Ranma in the shower,__(pervs)_

Ranma sighed in absolute bliss as the steamy water ran over her naked form. She had always loved baths, but somehow, a shower in her girl form was like a shot of ecstasy. Giggling, she thought, 'I hope I don't go all loopy like I would if it really were ecstasy."

So happy were her thoughts, that she didn't even notice her form shrinking. By the time she stepped out of the shower in her robe, she looked like a 6 year old. However, she never even noticed until she stepped up to the mirror.

'Huh. I don't remember having to use a stool to see the mirror when I walked in earlier.'

She wiped away the steam and stared into deep purple eyes attached to a small girl's face.

_With Ryoga and Kuno_

The two were sitting down to the two seats in the main cockpit of the ship. They were nearing Corruscant and Kuno was giving Ryoga a last minute rundown of the controls to help him land. The lost boy was surprisingly a natural. Just as the started entry into the atmosphere, they heard the loudest most high-pitched scream ever.

"Kyaaaaaah! Ryoga! Kuno!"

To their ears, it almost sounded like a little girl had stowed away on the ship. But that was impossible, right? The only people on board were them and….."RANMA!"

They rushed towards the bathroom only to meet a small girl halfway.

She was about three feet tall, with shocking red hair and large purple eyes. And she was only dressed in Ranma's shirt.

Ryoga cautiously reached out and asked the girl, "R-Ranma? Is that…..you?"

Oh no! Anonymous-chan just left you with a cliffhanger! Sorry, but where I'm at, it's getting late. Please PLEASE review. I need feedback like a fish needs water. All you have to do is click that little button down there and write what you thought of the chapter. I'm begging you, review the chapter! T-T

_review pretty please ^_^_


	5. The Arrival on Corruscant

Hi peoples. Well, whoever is even still reading this. Sorry about the inconsistent uploading. I don't really have an excuse though. I also don't really have anything to say for this story except this: Yeah, I know there are a few inconsistencies in the story. If I wasn't so lazy or busy, I'd probably go fix them. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I'm sorry George Lucas and Rumiko Takahashi! I didn't mean to forget the last disclaimer! Don't strike me down with vengeance! Please! (I own nothing.)

On a black and blue starship above the city planet of Corruscant, there was a conflict taking place that rivaled even the Clone War. Of course, that's only to be expected when one finds themselves de-aged to the stature of a six year old.

"What the hell happened to me?! I look like a little kid!" screamed a little girl with fiery hair and purple eyes.

*To those who wondered, I know her eyes are blue. I just like the color purple and why not?*

"Ranma, you have to calm down," stated the samurai/Jedi.

The small child turned her fury upon him and yelled, "WHY SHOULD I?!"

Calmly, Kuno replied, "Because for one, you're acting like a certain tomboy who rather liked yelling in the same fashion you are now. Two, it is not a good thing for a Force-talented child to lose her temper. Finally, you're starting to make objects, myself and Ryoga included, fly around the room." The last bit he said as he slammed against the wall.

Ranma stopped her tantrum and looked around. Kuno was crumpled up against a wall in what couldn't be a very comfortable position. Ryoga was in what looked like a handstand with several boxes lying about him. Everything looked like it had been blown about by a hurricane.

Quietly she turned to Kuno and asked, "Did…did I do all of this?"

Kuno righted himself and said with an emotionless face, "Yes, you did, and it will only get worse if you don't get some sort of training."

Ranma's eyes brightened at the word 'training.'

"You mean I'll get to learn all about this Force thing? That's great!"

Kuno sat back down and said, "Yes, I will take it upon myself to train you in the Force. Perhaps it is even a good thing you changed into a young one. Normally, the training to be a Jedi must be started at a very young age. You seem to be right at it. However, two questions remain, how and why?"

Ranma thought about it for a second and then put her fist in her palm.

"I think the answer to both questions is obvious - Jusenkyo," Ranma said.

Kuno looked over to Ranma in confusion. "How so?"

Ranma said casually, "Yeah. Just think about it. Jusenkyo specializes in transforming people and I heard the guide say that it was alive while we were going to the Amazon village. Maybe it knew that I would be better off as a child. There isn't really a bad side to the whole thing yet anyway."

She looked back at Kuno and face faulted. He was staring at her with his jaw dropped.

"Who are you?! You're not Ranma! She was a stupid fool!"

*I'm not really allowed to describe the next scene to you because then the fic wouldn't be rated T. Instead, I will describe a koala…………………It's cute………….That is all.*

Ranma was standing over a bruised and bloody Kuno.

"Yeah?! Well the Kuno I know was a stupid, insane, persistent idiot that didn't know that I was a guy! For your information, I'm quite intelligent. I just need to focus."

Kuno looked up through a black eye and said, "I-I'm sorry!"

By this time, Ryoga finally realized that he wasn't floating anymore and put himself down from his handstand. He walked over to the pair, picked up Ranma by the collar of her shirt, hiked Kuno up on his feet, and said, "You guys are fighting over something stupid. Grow up."

He looked at them both and saw that their mouths were both to the ground

They both yelled simultaneously, "Who are you?! The real Ryoga always fights over stupid things!"

*Hey look, there's that koala again……………..still cute……..Ok, I think they're done.*

Ranma was hung on a coat hanger with bumps on her head and Kuno was back on the floor only more beat up than he was before.

Ryoga walked towards the cockpit saying, "You better get up Kuno. Knowing my sense of direction, we might end up on some other planet."

This woke up the unconscious samurai and he rushed to the pilot's seat. Ranma was slower to wake up, but immediately started shouting, "Hey! Let me down! Someone! Let me - oh wait, I can fly." She concentrated a bit and lifted herself into the air. Then, deciding to exercise her flight capabilities, she remained hovering and flew into the cockpit.

The craft began its slow descent to the city-planet. While Ranma and Ryoga stared out the window, Kuno simply sighed and mumbled something that sounded very suspiciously like "tourists." In a graceful manner, the ship set down and the whoosh of escaping air pressure was heard as the ship's ramp extended to the ground. The two new visitors immediately raced for the door but were stopped by their guide's voice.

"You two are not to be trusted without me near you," Kuno said. "Before you go anywhere, you need to understand some things about where we are."

Ranma looked up and asked, "like what?"

The Jedi continued, "First of all, no Force powers in the open. Learning of the Force is absolutely prohibited by the emperor, unless you work for him. As you and I do not, not floating.

"Second of all, you need a tracer. While I'd prefer to just stay with you guys, it is almost certain we will be separated. Therefore, I need to be able to find you quickly." With this statement, Kuno stuck each of them with what felt like a needle.

While Ryoga merely seemed surprised, Ranma almost seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Ryoga, noticing this couldn't help but ask, "what's wrong with you shrimp?"

Immediately retaliating Ranma said, "Nothing, Bacon-breath!" She thought, 'damn little kid body. I can't believe I almost cried just from getting stuck with a needle!'

Kuno, after getting their attention once more, said, "Lastly, trust no one. While Corruscant is known for being beautiful, it is also the center for the galactic underworld. If not with me, then stick close to each other. Beware your shady characters. And don't pick fights!" With that said, he politely gestured the stunned pair out the door and beeped it closed.

Almost as soon as the door shut behind them, the group split. Ranma and Ryoga were fortunate enough to stay together, so they just wandered about, seeing the sights. Several times, the pair couldn't help but stop and marvel at the unusual characters just walking about. Blue-skinned women and what looked almost like a tentacle monster were quite the norm around the planet, it seemed. Trying not to stare, they instead set their sights on the myriad of shops that surrounded them.

Walking over to a vendor's stand that had a sign written in some alien language, the young teen-and-a-half stopped to window shop. Their eyes widened with excitement when they realized they had stumbled upon a weapon shop.

While Ranma had always been of the personal belief that one did not need weapons to win a fight, she never hesitated to stop and examine one when she got the chance.

Looking over to the owner, Ryoga indicated that he wanted to pick up what looked like a small gun. Said owner, in obvious disregard, simply waved in a gesture of "Sure. Just don't break it."

With some caution, he lifted the blaster in his hand and turned it over. There was a little roman numeral one on the side. Looking back down, Ryoga saw that it went with a set of four identical blasters and a hip holster. Even though he had never seen anything like them before, Ryoga knew they were of a high quality.

For some reason, these weapons called out to him. He looked up and said, "How much?"

Ranma looked at him in surprise and said, "We have no money fool."

Ryoga just replied, "Ranma, I _need_ these."

She looked at his pleading face, and back down at the weapons. She then looked down and said, very quietly, "Sir, may we please have these weapons?"

The shop owner looked at her and said, "No. They cost more than you've got, brat."

A little louder, she repeated the question, "Sir, may we please have the weapons?" However, this time, there was something wrong with her voice. It seemed like multiple voices overlapping one another.

The shop-keeper seemed to look panicked for a moment, and then, in a monotone voice, said, "Of course. No charge."

Throughout the whole event, Ryoga was speechless. Was Ranma really….mind-controlling him? For some reason, the thought disturbed him and he couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine.

As soon as the belt and blasters were in her hands, Ranma immediately started walking away, and Ryoga was hot on her heels.

He said, almost too loudly, "How did you do that?!"

Ranma just shoved the items into his hands and said, " I don't know, but don't ever ask me to do it again, and don't ever tell Kuno."

Ryoga just traded out his sword belt for the new one and slipped on the blasters.

"Well, thank you."

Ranma turned and smiled warmly at him. "You're welcome, Ryoga."

Wow, I'm finally starting to get into this! I was a little worried I was done with this one for a while but I'm glad I didn't! Well, review and tell me your thoughts. ^_^


	6. The Fight in the WorldCity

Whew, it has been a while. I have some good news for anyone who still actually reads this fic. I recently went back in time to fix all of the mistakes I made throughout the previous chapters. However, while I was back then, I decided I wouldn't have to tamper with the time-space continuum if I just re-upload fixed chapters. Anyway, after much work and considerable drainage of magic, I fixed everything. If you see something more important than a small typo that needs fixing, please let me know. Also, I have a legitimate reason for not putting any new chapters up lately. My computer has once again attempted suicide recently and was denying me access to the wonderful world wide web (wwww?). Don't worry, if you care, I've got it back under control.

Disclaimer says: Anonymous owns nothing so please don't sue. I make no money from this. I swear.

The duo continued down the street of vendors, wandering aimlessly. After looking around a little, they had decided that there was nothing of real value on the whole street. The blasters seemed to be the result of a side street vendor/scam artist who won a bet against a real gunsmith and didn't know what he got his hands on.

They were reassured of the value of the guns when Ryoga started taking pot shots at muggers who tried to rob them when they accidentally wandered down a shady back alley. The only thing that saved them was the ammunition of the guns themselves.

They shot some sort of little blue laser that didn't appear to do anything but put a circular burn on the point of impact. The pair thought they had been scammed until the first mugger fell to the ground clutching his knee like they had shot it off. After the initial shock and evil grins passed, the rest of the thieves were left on the ground holding their blackened feet.

To test the effectiveness of her "force-lightning," Ranma zapped one of them just to see how normal people would take it.

He took it like a sack of potatoes would.

Decidedly satisfied with their new arsenal, the pair decided to continue back towards the ship.

After a while, Ranma decided to forgo walking and climbed up on Ryoga's shoulders. He didn't seem to mind, or even notice and just continued walking.

While she seemed relaxed on the outside, inside, Ranma was slightly worried.

'I knew I wouldn't be very strong as a kid, but I have almost no stamina! Even before I went on that stupid training trip, I could walk much farther than that. If I couldn't fly, I'd be seriously screwed if any one decided I was worth chasing.'

Ryoga, having noticed her sitting on his shoulders looking troubled, asked, "What's wrong squirt?"

Wisely ignoring the insult, she responded quietly, "I'm not as strong as I used to be."

"Well you are only about six years old, physically-speaking. You can't really expect to be as strong as you were before you shrunk."

"Yes, but even before I went on the ten-year training trip with Pop, I could walk much farther than that. Thanks for the ride, by the way."

"Yeah, no problem. But about your stamina. Maybe you learning that Force stuff is starting to make you weaker."

"Oh yeah right. How in the world can that happen?"

"Think about it. If you do everything with your powers, then your muscles start to lose strength, right? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but you've been using them a lot lately."

Ranma looked down. "Go figure. I learn a super cool new technique and it makes me weaker the more I use it. Maybe Kuno will know something to keep me in shape."

_With Kuno_

Said samurai was currently robed and walking silently down another alley. As he went, he would wave his hand slightly to keep some of the more unsavory of people from coming his way. Checking to make sure he wasn't followed, he slipped into a nondescript little bar. Moving toward the back, he settled down and ordered a drink from a passing waitress. Spying a table crowded with conversational people, Kuno listened in on them.

"I'm telling you Shliv! I was just stopping for a minute on Hoth to get my bearings and stretch my legs when something walks out of the snow! This wasn't one 'o them huge ass monsters either! It looked like a man. It was walkin' around and then it spotted me and started runnin' at me! I 'bout pissed myself and got the hell outta there!"

Another creature at the table made a weird clicking sound and said, "Yeah right! You're always makin' up these stupid stories, you Kleebnak!"

Everyone burst into laughing, (or what passes as laughter) and changed subjects.

No one noticed the cloaked man get up and leave before the waitress even brought him his drink.

_Back with our main character and her companion_

The super-human youths had arrived back at the shipyard where they had landed and were nearing their own spacecraft.

"Hey Ranma?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Kuno actually say what we came to corris…corro…this planet for?"

Ranma looked up in thought. "You know what? No, I don't think he ever did. I wonder what we are doing here. I doubt it was to shop."

They turned a corner and Ryoga stopped in his tracks.

Having been jarred almost off of his shoulders, Ranma exclaimed, "Ryoga? What gives? I almost fell off you-"

"Be quiet!" he hissed. "I get the feeling those guys in white are the police around here, considering their body armor and the way they're investigating our ship."

Ranma was quiet at that and looked at the "police."

They all had about the same physique, were about the same height, and wore the same clothes, white body armor with a gas mask helmet and black under layer. They all even moved the same. She would have considered the possibility that they were all identical twins if not for there being about twenty of them.

'Then again, I have no idea what the people around here breed like.'

The two flinched when one looked in their direction and motioned three of his buddies to follow him over to the pair. As they got closer, Ryoga noticed that the masks were probably supposed to intimidate people, and, if that failed, the large blaster rifles they carried with them would do better. He slowly got in a better position to hit and run, with one arm swinging freely and the other moving to be ready to grab Ranma.

The young(er) Force-adept herself began to gather her energies in preparation to launch the soldiers into the battalion behind them. Although the guns would give them an advantage, they didn't seem very capable of taking on the two top fighters of the Nerima Wrecking Crew, even if one of them was using an entirely different style of fighting. She knew Kuno had told her not to use her Force powers in public, but this seemed like an appropriate emergency.

As they got ready for a possible fight, one of the soldiers called out to them in a voice hidden by a radio scratch.

"Hey! You two there! We have some questions for you about this ship."

Just as the two began to move, a robed figure called out to the group.

"Oh, those two are with me!" He moved closer, and to their amazement, the figure was Kuno. He walked closer and the soldiers turned their attention to him

One of them spoke up and asked, "Do you know who's ship that is?" He pointed to Kuno's ship and said Jedi simply responded in the affirmative.

"Well, it's unlicensed. In fact, I don't think I've seen this particular model since before the Jedi went extinct. How is it that you have one?"

Kuno calmly replied, "Well, you see, I'm a bit of a collector and this ship is quite a classic. I'm sorry it isn't licensed, but it was never meant to be driven. I just took it out of lack of a suitable vehicle."

When he said this, he waved his hand, as if turning a page in a book. The soldier said nothing at first, and then, in the same monotone voice as the vendor, he said, "Of course. Everything seems to be in order here. Let's go."

While this seemed all well and good for one of the troops, the other saw Kuno move his hand.

"Hey! Is that some kind of Jedi mind trick? You know learning of the Force is prohibited! You three are coming with us!"

This snapped the other two out of their daze and they started moving towards the trio. Kuno very calmly looked over at Ranma and Ryoga and said calmly, "Okay then. Plan B."

With that statement, he pulled out his boken and in the time it took to look his way, one of the soldiers was down on the ground with a wooden sword having been snapped in half over his helmeted head. In the same moment, Ryoga drew two of his pistols and shot two bolts into the joints of another one's knees. He crumpled to the ground while Ranma mentally grabbed the last trooper and stretched him out like a board.

The other white armored soldiers saw the commotion and came rushing over, guns blazing. Ranma pointed her human harpoon towards the mob, took aim, and fired. The shot took out a good five before he came to a stop in the stomach of a sixth.

Ryoga, meanwhile, had started to experiment with quick draw, and was rapidly pulling out, firing, and replacing all four of his blasters without dropping any of them. Ranma was quite impressed with this, as she had never realized just how fast Ryoga really was. While not as fast as she herself, he was well beyond normal human speed and it showed then. However, the extra speed was met with a severe drop in accuracy. Most of his shots were striking the armor, so, while knocked for a loop, few of the soldiers were actually going down. Unfortunately, he also couldn't keep it up. He dropped one of the guns in his haste and couldn't reach for it without disturbing the pattern.

Ranma glanced at Kuno. He had been surrounded by seven more soldiers. With his boken having been broken, he was quickly ganged up on and had his hands raised in surrender. However, just as Ranma made to dispatch the troops, the young Jedi moved his hands down swiftly, which dropped a small, silver, cylindrical tube into his hand. She watched in amazement as, before her very eyes, a stream of pure blue light burst from the object, with the end result looking very much like a sword of light. Kuno moved into a kendo stance and prepared for onslaught. Ranma knew that Kuno wielding a sword would be way too much for any number of generic soldiers, so she sat back to watch the show.

The first move was made by a nervous soldier. He fired a shot at the now obvious Jedi, who easily deflected the shot into the ground. This prompted all of the others to fire at the boy. A hailstorm of plasma bullets was deflected expertly into either the ground, the air, or an unlucky soldier's shoulder or knee. In the end, all of the soldiers were left lying on the ground clutching various parts of their body with an unharmed Kuno standing in the same stance he started in.

Unknown to him, a stray trooper snuck up behind him and took aim. Kuno seeing Ranma's look of horror, turned to see what the problem was right as the soldier fired. Kuno closed his eyes, knowing the bolt would strike him right between the eyes.

Then he tentatively opened his eyes.

There, floating ten inches in front of his face was a suspended bolt of plasma.

The trooper, who was just as stunned as Kuno, turned and ran from what would soon be known as the bullet-proof Jedi. Said Jedi turned and looked at Ranma. She had her hands held toward the bullet with a look of extreme concentration etched on her face. Sensing Kuno was out of danger, she released her hold, and the bolt dissipated.

Ryoga stared at the girl. He himself was ridiculously tired from fending of almost half of the troops himself. He was so tired in fact, that he could do nothing when a soldier grabbed Ranma from behind and put the barrel of his gun to her head.

"N-n-nobody move! I s-swear I'll blow her brains all over the ground!"

Ranma prides herself on her self-control. However, she has never had a gun pointed at her before. Her face was a mask of fear as self-restraint was shoved aside by instinct. and on sheer instinct she took control of his arm, pointed the gun under his chin, and made him pull the trigger. The soldiers cried out quickly before he fell to the ground, quite dead. As fast as she could, Ranma rolled away. She frantically crawled to Ryoga and clamped herself around his leg, with her face buried into his pants. Ryoga, for once, had nothing to say, so he simply picked up Ranma around the waist and walked into the ship, hoping there were no reinforcements on their way. Kuno walked over to the troopers body, bowed low, and then pushed him off the edge of the landing platform and into the darkened streets below. The resulting commotion would likely distract any roaming soldiers long enough for them to get off the planet. He walked back to the ship and boarded, closing the hatch behind him with a hiss. As he walked to the cockpit, he noticed Ranma sobbing into a troubled Ryoga's shirt. He knew that the next few nights would be sleepless ones for her.

'However much she may hate it, a Jedi's job is to keep the peace - by any means necessary.'

Like Kuno predicted, Ranma's dreams were later haunted by images of horror. She had committed the ultimate taboo for a martial artist not once, but twice now. She had taken another human life, something she was sworn never to do.

The first time, with Saffron, it was to save Akane. She may have killed him, but it was to prevent the harm of others. She knew that there was no other way, and that it was for the greater good that Saffron died. However, this time, things could have turned out differently.

Saffron had been what many would call Ranma's ultimate enemy. He had a counter for every attack she could throw at him. Nothing she did could stop him. Her lifetime of training was all for naught as compared to the near all-powerful phoenix. And then, in the flames that would boil the bones in her very body had it not been for the phoenix pill, she knew she had to cross that thin line.

She had to kill Saffron.

With that resolution and the reassurance that it was for another, Ranma let loose all of her power. It manifested into a blade of wind that would carve anything it touched far better than even the mighty neko-ken. The blade reached the unsuspecting Saffron, who was literally cut to ribbons. Not even he could live from such a devastating attack.

However, as horrible as it was for her to remember, that was then.

Her hostage situation made her realize something _now_, though. Things were getting out of hand. The soldier had been scared and was just doing what he had to do to live through the hour. Unfortunately for him, he picked the wrong hostage, and paid for it.

Ranma knew she could have handled that situation differently. He was already scared. She could have just talked him out of hurting her. If she had been desperate enough, she could have used that horrible "convincing" power she discovered earlier that day. Either way, that soldier didn't have to die.

Now Ranma knew what Kuno had meant when he said she needed control. If the problem wasn't addressed soon, her powers would react less to her will, and more to her whims.

Her only hope was that someone could help her. She knew that Ryoga and Kuno would always be there for her. However, what if that was a bad thing? Obviously, she didn't have as much control over her almost godly powers as it was. What if they got caught in the crossfire?

All she could do was hope that Kuno helped her control herself before a situation came along that put him and Ryoga in danger - of her.

Ranma pushed herself away from Ryoga and silently walked into the cockpit to stand before Kuno. He looked down at her. His face was expressionless.

Slowly, she got to her knees and bowed to him.

With her head down, she said, "Rollith Kuno, I have dire need of your wisdom. I am in danger of falling into darkness. I will soon lose my way and might even succumb to darker temptations. I suppose, in other words; Help me Rollith Kuno. You're my only hope."

Kuno maintained his stoic face. Then, with a smile, he said, "I would be happy to train you, Padawan Ranma."

You asked for longer chapters and so did they appear. I hope this is long enough. If not, or if anything else arises that needs to be addressed, please contact me. I'm sorry this turned kind of dark but I'm relatively sure it will get better...I hope. Oh yeah. I don't know if you noticed, but the "sith hunter" I mentioned in chapter four was indeed Star Killer (the Force Unleashed). He might be making an appearance here shortly. I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit him in or not, but it would be cool to see who has the better force powers¾him or Ranma.


	7. The Meeting with a Master

Hello again, oh great readers. I am most pleased indeed to say that I have decided to stop screwing around and put up a new chapter. I hope you guy appreciate this because I still have three reports I have to write for school. (Poor me) Anyhoo! I keep hearing the same old questions being asked, so to put readers to rest, I shall indulge in answering. Ranma is a cute and adowable wittle chibi because I thought she would make for a cute little girl. (Please don't take that the wrong way btw. I'm not a hentai...at least not over that) There is really and honestly no other reason than that. However, with the recent birth of my cute little niece, I can see a cute baby often enough that I don't have to change poor little Ranma into one anymore. She will be back to her normal buxom self soon. I promise. Secondly, the story takes place just slightly prior to the fourth movie. To those who don't know which one that is, it's the one where they blow up the big laser planet the first time. This is mostly to make the story fit, since that's a pretty malleable timeline I think. Finally, I have decided that Star Killer will indeed be making an appearance, although I'm torn on the original, or the new one. Suggestions?

Disclaimer: My box has been growing too cold lately for me to attempt to claim rights to anything but the story. Wah.

"Again."

Lights flashed as a tiny little blaster bolt was dodged by Ranma. After about two hours of this, the weakened girl was breathing heavier and sweating from exertion. Turning towards her master, she moaned pitifully, "Kuno, why am I doing this again? I don't see how dodging all the time will help me control myself better."

Looking back at her with a frown heavy on his face, he answered, "For the last time, call me master. We are training your control by shifting you into a battle situation."

The girl jumped over another bolt and asked, "Well if we're just doing that, why don't we spar? I know I'm good at that."

The samurai responded, "I know that Ranma. That's precisely why we are pretty much skipping most of your physical training all together. I daresay your father has trained you far beyond the limits of any Jedi training. You would have probably even been a challenge to Master Windu himself. I am having you dodge blaster bolts to get you more used to your next bout of training - live fire."

Ranma paused for a second at that, which caused the little practice droid to land a solid hit on the red-head. The training ended with the shot and the droid floated over to Kuno's outstretched hand where it turned itself off.

"You're going to shoot real guns at me? Isn't that a bit much?"

"I'm not going to shoot at you." Ranma sighed in relief. "Ryoga is."

Just then, a bolt flew out from the shadows towards Ranma. With wide eyes, she jumped out of the way and dropped into a defensive stance. Ryoga stepped out into the open and drew another pistol from his belt.

"Ryoga, are you out of your freakin' mind?"

He grinned maliciously and said, "Chill squirt. I won't aim for your vitals...probably. I am still new at this."

He started in at his new fast-draw technique, forcing Ranma to bounce around the room like a pinball. Since she was so devoted to the act, she didn't notice Ryoga lean slightly toward Kuno and ask, "And you're sure those little switches on the bottoms of these guns switch them to 'stun', right?"

Kuno answered, "I don't recognize the model of those pistols, but yes, the stun switch is a standard safety feature for all guns as far as I know."

Ryoga looked relieved as he put more effort into blasting Ranma. "Good. It would be bad if my rival got seriously hurt by a stupid training exercise."

Hopping around the room, Ranma began to slow slightly. 'If I don't keep moving, those shots are really going to kill me!' Panic started to rise in her chest. 'I need to move faster!'

Her speed started to rise.

'Faster!'

Higher.

'FASTER!'

Ranma blurred from view as she pushed herself over the edge. 'What? Even ki doesn't let me move this fast.' Everything seemed to slow down to her eyes. She turned her head slightly and visually tracked a blaster bolt as it lazily floated by her face. 'Is this the power of the Force, too?'

Watching from the sidelines, Kuno smiled.

'Good. Not only did she stop herself from panicking, but she also learned how to use the Force to augment her body. Very good. I doubt even Master Yoda learned such things as quickly as she has.' He reached over and tapped Ryoga's shoulder, signaling him to stop. He spun his pistols and put them all in their holsters. Turning towards Ranma he saw her lying face down on the floor.

"Oh crap! Ranma!" Rushing over to her, he rolled her over onto her side and lightly slapped her cheeks. "Ranma! Speak to me! Did I hit you? That idiot Kuno said they were on stun!" At that, she snapped up and slammed her fist into his cheek.

"YOU BASTARD! I thought you were seriously shooting to kill me!"

"You don't seriously think I would shoot you, do you?"

"It came to mind while I was dodging bullets!"

"Where's Kuno?"

Don't change the sub-" She blanched and said, "Actually, you're right. Where is Kuno?"

_In the Cockpit_

Kuno sat down in his chair as he prepared for landing. They were just breaching the planet's atmosphere when his padawan floated in with Ryoga. As the latter sat down, Ranma floated over toward the 3D navigation computer which listed the planet that they were setting down on.

"Hey Master. Why are we stopping on this Dagobah place?"

Kuno swiveled his chair around to face her. "I'm very glad you asked Ranma. We are here for two reasons. One: I need to speak to a very wise and powerful person. Two: you need to speak to this person so that they may see that there is hope yet in the galaxy."

Ranma paused for a moment at that before saying, "...That sounded really cheesy Master. What are you, a fortune cookie?"

Trying very hard to mask the large sweat drop on his head, he turned back toward the view screen. "As soon as we set down, I need you two to follow me very closely. As bad as Corruscant was, Dagobah is far worse. You could be eaten."

Ranma shrugged. "It can't be much worse than being eaten by the Orochi." The two boys just stared at her with questioning looks on their faces. "Long story."

Kuno just looked away and said, "Yes, well, you can tell us all about it some other time. We're landing."

_On Dagobah_

The trio walked cautiously through the dense flora of the planet's surface. Every now and then, Kuno would pull out his light sword and wave it toward shadows where large eyes loomed. Many times something scurried/slithered over a foot, and twice Ryoga had shot at Ranma for jumping out and scaring him.

Kuno just sighed and continued marching forward. "We're almost there. Just a bit-" He didn't have a chance to finish his statement as an enormous...something...burst out of the nearby water and grabbed Ryoga with a massive webbed claw.

Ryoga yelped and was dragged under the water. Ranma screamed out, "RYOGA!" and made to dive in after him, but Kuno held her back. Ranma turned and yelled at him to let her go, but he held her still and said simply, "Just watch."

Ranma turned and watched as the turbulent water went still, fewer and fewer bubbles rising to the surface. Finally, they stopped altogether. The water was completely still, and as Ranma felt her eyes start to water, she started to turn away. Suddenly, there were three blue flashes, and then the water started to rumble again.

Ranma's eyes stared wide with relief as Ryoga emerged holding the tail of a large animal that looked something like a cross between a crocodile and a whale.

"Hey guys! I have no idea what it is, so guess what's for dinner!"

He was distracted from saying anything further as he was suddenly slammed to the ground by a red projectile. The redhead beat the stuffing out of the lost boy as he sputtered, wondering what he did wrong.

"YOU FREAKIN' JERK! I WAS UP HERE FREAKING OUT THINKING YOU WERE DEAD AND YOU'RE JUST FINDING A MEAL!"

Ryoga was at a loss as he tried his best to calm the girl wailing on him when she suddenly stopped. He looked down and noticed that she had him in a death-grip hug around his waist. Looking closer he also saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"You and Kuno are all the family I have. I don't know what I'd do if one of you.. one of you...hic..died."

He reached around and hugged her back. "Geeze. Don't worry you crybaby. It'd take more than that pollywog to take me down."

The girl immediately sat up straight and rubbed her face. "I-I wasn't c-crying! You just splashed some water in my eyes is all!"

Ryoga grinned and responded, "Right. Sure. Splashed you. Got it."

Ranma flamed red and used the Force to float nearer to Kuno, who was barely concealing a smile behind his hand.

"What're you grinnin' at Blue Rain Cloud?"

"Oh nothing, nothing."

Suddenly, something in the shadows said in a raspy voice, "Quite a vibrant youth, she is. Eh, Master Rollith? Hohohoho."

Kuno smiled as he turned to face the voice. "It is nice to see you again...Master Yoda."

"Hohoho. Nice to see you too, it is. Visitors, did you bring?" Yoda turned toward Ranma and Ryoga. "Oh Master Rollith. Sense much to come of these two, I do. Inside, let us go."

_Inside Yoda's Hut_

The little gnome-like master hobbled around the hut serving everyone a cup of tea. Absentmindedly, Ranma sipped a bit of it and all but spit it out again. Yoda chuckled and said, "Like my tea, you do? Made from Cromla eyeballs, it is." he said as he downed an entire cup.

Wisely, Kuno pushed his tea back while saying he wasn't thirsty. He looked towards Yoda and asked, "Master, you said that Ranma and Ryoga would be important in future events?"

Suddenly, Yoda grew serious. "Yes. Much to come of these two, there is. Meditated here for years, I have, and seen I grave thing, I have." Turning towards Ranma, he asked her, "Experienced much, you have. However, no fear do I sense in you. A courageous youth, you are. Tell me child, what have you learned so far?"

Ranma stared back into the little green man's eyes, an easy task, as he was just about the same height as she was. Opening her mouth, she said, "Master, I have learned...that if Kuno is a fortune cookie, you must be a fortune cookie factory. I mean, with how you talk, you could just tell me 'good morning' and I would be tempted to ask for my lucky numbers!"

As Kuno stared at her with horror and Ryoga rolled on the ground in laughter, Yoda just stared at her. Finally, he said, "...Ohohohohoho! A great sense of humor you have! Hard to find in such times as these those are. Ohohohohoho." Turning back to a shocked Kuno, he chuckled and said, "Found quite a padawan you have. Full of youth and confidence she is. Need my help in training her, you do not. Hohohoho. However, wish to test her strength, I do. Hohoho. Come child."

Yoda hobbled out of his hut and over to a hidden path in the trees. Stooping to follow, the teens found themselves back at their ship. Due to landing in the mud, the ship had sunk down into the ground, and the strongest of Earth machinery wouldn't be pulling it up any time soon. Yoda hobbled over to it and turned to Ranma.

"Your ship, I presume?"

"Yep, that's it all right. Sucks that it sank into the mud, though."

Yoda smiled and said, "Good. Get it out."

He was probably expecting her to complain of how deep it was, or that she had no chance of getting it. He was not expecting her to say simply, "Ok"

Puzzled, the aged master Jedi watched as the young redhead reached out with the Force and grabbed the ship. As the ship was much deeper in the mud than he had at first thought, he started to offer just a bit of help, being more than impressed that one so young was already so powerful. However, a large nut fell onto his head, prompting him to look up. What he saw made his eyes go wide. The branches on the trees were _bending up_ just from the side forces produced by trying to move the ship. Not only was it stuck in the mud, but it had also been stuck there by a vacuum. At this point, Yoda wasn't sure an imperial star destroyer could pull out the ship without yanking out a crater in the planet as well. However, it seemed the redhead was doing almost exactly that! Looking around, the master saw the very roots of centuries-old trees struggling to stay in the ground. A slightly younger tree was already pulled most of the way out and was hanging on by only its deepest roots. Turning back to the girl, Yoda gaped when the redhead said, "Almost there...it's being really stubborn. Aaaaand...Got it!"

As she said this, Ranma yanked her hands upward, and with a boom, the ship exploded out of the ground, sending dirt and mud flying into the air.

Ranma gently set the ship down on the ground in a dry spot and wiped her forehead.

"Whew! that was a bit tougher than I thought it would be!" She turned back to Yoda and saw him staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. "What?"

He quickly regained his composure. "Ahem. Very impressive that was. I think you are more than ready to continue." Turning around, he looked up and watched as Kuno and Ryoga fell out of the trees surrounding them.

"Master Rollith, feel that the girl is ready, I do. To Hoth, she must go." Getting off of the ground, Kuno said, "Very well Master. We will depart at once." Leaning down his whispered, "So...uh...what do you think of my padawan?"

Yoda looked up at Kuno and in as serious a voice as he could manage, he asked, "What feed this girl, do you? Whatever it is, get myself some, I must."

With that, the ancient master Jedi hobbled away, chuckling.

Ryoga got up and after gathering Ranma under his arm asked, "So what do we do now?"

Kuno herded them into the ship and said, "We head for colder weather."

_Somewhere Near Fellucia_

A serious looking man strode into a secret communications room of his ship. His shaved head gives him a military look and his dusky clothes seem ragged and worn. He steps over to a large communicator and kneels before it. An image of a Man covered entirely in black with a helmet and respirator attached to his chest appeared and looked down at his ward.

The young man finally speaks. "What is your wish, my master?"

The man in black answers, "Plans have changed and I think I have found a suitable final target for you to hunt. The emperor has spoken lately of a child who is well-versed in the ways of the Force. She could be a hindrance in our plot against him. Find and kill her."

The younger man nodded and asked, "What, pray tell, is the name of my target, Master?"

The man in black pauses to breathe in and out a few times.

"Her name...is Ranma."

The man stands and bows. "Consider her life forfeit, Master. I shall depart at once."

"Very good, Starkiller. Do not fail me. You know the price."

Starkiller walked to the door as the image flickered away.

"Yes, my master..."

Whew! That was a long one for me too! Right, so the review button is down there for the sole purposes of giving opinions and pleasing Anonymous-chan. Please use it!


End file.
